Roberto Mancini's focus on hard work is starting to pay dividends

Roberto Mancini has thrown the catenaccio among the pigeons. The Italian's
cautious game plan, swamping midfield with ball-winners and hitting on the
counter to defeat Chelsea and open up the Premier League race, may not be a
tactic to lift the soul but it might just lift a trophy.

Hard taskmaster: Roberto Mancini ensures his players work hard both on and off the pitchPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

People have to start believing in the methods of this likeable perfectionist now.

Mancini's mantra reverberates through Manchester City's Carrington training retreat to their Eastlands stage, espousing the importance of industry on and off the pitch.

The primacy of hard work colours Mancini's view of Adam Johnson, and underpinned his decision to make the tireless Carlos Tévez captain. Mancini knows there are no short cuts, no alternatives to endless diligence, if City are to outlast opponents over 90 minutes and then over a 10-month season.

Even in his hour of victory, that small post-match window when any victorious manager can shout the odds before the waves of pressure roll back in, Mancini did not deviate from his dogma.

"We must work to improve always – every day,'' he stressed. It is why he has introduced double training sessions, depriving players of an afternoon at the Trafford Centre to fine-tune their pattern of play at Carrington.

Although football came naturally to Mancini, such a sumptuously gifted attacker, he knows the value of hard work to reach the summit and stay there. City are still on the arduous ascent.

This was the message Mancini delivered on the eve of sporting battle when mentioning that Johnson needed to avoid off-field distractions and when discussing Chelsea's championship credentials.

He praised Carlo Ancelotti's side and emphasised that City would get close to them only through constant application. Yesterday's tactics took that philosophy a stage further.

Mancini's players certainly worked hard to get close to Ancelotti's. "We closed the space,'' mused Mancini. They didn't just close it; they squeezed every ounce of oxygen out of it.

"From back to front of their 4-3-2-1 system, City harried Nicolas Anelka, Florent Malouda and the rest of the champions out of their hitherto prolific stride.

Vincent Kompany was immense at centre-half, making block after block. Even the inexperienced right-back Dedryck Boyata refused to be cowed, although he was fortunate to escape with two blatant fouls on Didier Drogba.

At left-back, Pablo Zabaleta tore into tackles, beginning with Anelka, moving on to Branislav Ivanovic, and seemingly working through the alphabet.

So did Nigel de Jong athletically and legitimately while Gareth Barry gave one of his most assertive performances. A desire to protect City's goal characterised Barry's every move.

Chelsea's tough guys were being bullied. Rarely have Michael Essien and John Obi Mikel been overpowered while Ramires resembled a fly-half who had mistakenly wandered into the middle of a particularly fiery line-out practice.

Chelsea's rhythm section was silenced, especially with Yaya Touré and David Silva selflessly working back from their stations behind the front-running Tévez. Silva, the deft Spaniard, had appeared the type who might require time to adjust to the physical nature of the Premier League; one robust challenge on Malouda showed he has settled in.

Mancini's players stuck religiously to their manager's orders. For all the whispers of an unhappy dressing room, of dissent towards his training methods, they seem to believe in his approach. Players focus on the size of their pay packets and the chance of trophies. Mancini offers both.

Saturday's collision was hardly a celebration of the Beautiful Game, not even representative of the usual end-to-end entertainment of the Premier League.

City almost resembled a Serie A team, an appraisal that Mancini would doubtless accept as a compliment, but there was an occasional injection of creativity into his tactics.

He tweaked Yaya Toure's role in the second half, pushing the colossal Ivorian closer to Tévez. Within 15 minutes, City had reward. When Ramires thought he could dwell on the ball, Barry muscled in, Yaya Toure released Tévez, Chelsea stood off and the Argentine scored arguably the season's most significant goal.

With 30 minutes remaining, and Chelsea given some impetus by the fresh legs of Daniel Sturridge and Josh McEachran, City knew that the visitors would try to whip up a late storm. It never materialised because of City's exceptional work rate.

Mancini knows that fine details define outcomes. Ivanovic hit a post, Boyata escaped those fouls, and Drogba will surely not be this quiet again. Yet City will offer greater imagination when the more attack-minded Jerome Boateng, who came on late, and Aleksandr Kolarov are properly installed at full-back.

Mario Balotelli's positioning will be interesting; unless Mancini uses him on the left wing, he should start up top with Tévez in the hole. Even if the line-up changes, Mancini's attitude will remain the same: work, work and more work. It's the only way.